Bar transfer apparatus

ABSTRACT

A bar transfer apparatus for moving bar stock from a work infeed storage rack and removing one piece of stock therefrom, prepositioning one end thereof and clamping the bar in a vise, moving the vise along a track and then moving the track horizontally, inserting the bar stock into a clamping fixture within a machine using bar stock as a raw material.

United States Patent Franklin D. Laklns Syracuse, N.Y.

[2]] Appl. No. 825,674

[22] Filed May 19, 1969 [45] Patented June 8, 1971 73] Assignee Alfred:B. Lakins, surviving spouse of said Franklin D. Lakins, deceased [72]Inventor [54] BAR TRANSFER APPARATUS 2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 214/1 865g 65/02 [50] Field ofSearch 214/1 P, l P2, 1, 1 B2,34

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 647,347 4/1900 Wellman et al214/34 1,925,194 9/1933 Long (214/34UX) 2,259,168 10/1941 Lamprecht214/1(P) 3,239,088 3/1966 Sano 2l4/34X Primary Examiner-Gerald M.Forlenza Assistant Examiner-F rank E. Werner Attorney-John R. VameyABSTRACT: A bar transfer apparatus for moving bar stock from a workinfeed storage rack and removing one piece of I stock therefrom,prepositioning one end thereof and clamping the bar in a vise, movingthe vise along a track and then moving the track horizontally, insertingthe bar stock into a clamping fixture within a machine using bar stockas a raw material.

PATENIEU JUN 8197i SHEET 1 OF 3 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

PATENTEI] JUN 8 l97| SHEET 3 [IF 3 n w vm q O. F u Q9 0 U: n u mm r. E oa lwuunn hnunu 0 n O O O O O O O O O Ami 0 8x 8 o I o wn m- @a 0 2 Q 0NM 8,--. "min/HI, 4 MN 0 I, N 2 3 O 0 $9 mv on s v w. 2 m0 2 INVENTOR.

FRANKLIN D. LAKINS. M9041 ATTORNEY.

BAR TRANSFER APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many apparatuses forperforming work operations on bar stock require bar stock to be insertedhorizontally therein. This requirement of insertion horizontally,heretofore limited the operation to manual loading. This limits theoperation to that within human capabilities which is very slow incomparison with todays high production machines. The problem of movingbar stock from a rack to insertion in a machine to perform work thereonrequired that the infeed rack output end be at the same level as that ofthe securing members on the machine. In the machines to which thisinvention is applied, it is impossible to have the workpiece insertedcompletely in a horizontal movement. Thus, the bar stock must be loweredbetween fixtures of the machine before it can be horizontally insertedinto the securing mechanism of the machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As disclosed herein the preferred embodiment ofthis invention is a mechanism for moving raw bar stock from an infeedrack to a machine, along a prescribed path dictated by the structure ofthe machine into which the bar stock is to be inserted. There is aninfeed rack from which one bar is ejected and moves into the jaws of avise, and is endwise positioned and clamped. The vise securely clamped,is pushed along a track by a roller chain connected to and wrappedaround a sprocket rotatably driven by a motor. The vise following thetrack completes a 90 turn, moves vertically downward and abuts a stop,further turning of the sprocket moves the vise and track, which ismounted on rollers, horizontally forward until the workpiece abutsclamping members of the machine. At this position the raw bar stock isin the machine or apparatus which performs a production operationthereon. The machine clamps the raw bar and the vise releases and thetrack retracks horizontally and then the vise proceeds back along thetrack to the position adjacent to the infeed rack awaiting the indexingof the next raw piece of bar stock and removal of the bar stock, whichhas had work completed thereon, from the machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side plan view of theapparatus of this invention, secured to the top of a machine using barstock in its operation thereof;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view with parts broken away to show the operation partsthereof, and;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in FIG. I there is abar transfer apparatus having a baseplate 11 secured to the top of amachine 12 into which apparatus 10 inserts the workpiece 14 to have workperformed thereon. Apparatus 10 comprises an inclined infeed work rack16 on to which raw bar stock or workpieces 14 are positioned. Work rack16 is made up of two support plates 15 held in space relation to eachother and secured on baseplate 11. Passing through support plates 15 andfour bars spaced from the plates 15 and each other are three rods,together which form the supporting structure for the infeed bar stock.

Adjacent the low end of the infeed rack 16 there is an indexingmechanism 18, to be more fully explained later, which moves oneworkpiece from rack 16 and allows the workpiece to drop into vise 20positioned under the index mechanism. With the workpiece in the openvise it is axially moved to preposition one end. On opening of thework-clamping device of machine 12 and the dropping out of the completedworkpiece, vise 20 clamps the workpiece 14 by an air cylinder 22 builtwithin the vise base which moves jaw 24 of the vise.

Upon clamping the workpiece, the vise 20 which is mounted upon rollers26 in track 28, moves to the left as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. The vise ismoved by double roller chains 30 pushing against it, the chain beingsupported in a chain guideway 32. The chain in turn is moved by twosprockets turned by a fluid motor 40.

Track 28 is L-shaped and allows the vise to move to the left anddownwardly until it abuts stop member 34 on the end of track 28. Theroller chains 30 actually push the vise, this is accomplished by thefact that the chains 30, upon leaving sprockets 35, fit within the chainguideway 32. This guideway of channel prevents the chain from bucklingas it normally would, if not confined within a guide channel. When thevise abuts stop member 34, further clockwise turning of the sprockets 35unwind the chain therefrom, pushing vise 20 and its L-shaped track 28which is also mounted on rollers 36, as seen in FIG. 3 and 4, and thevise 20 and track 28 move to the left.

The transfer apparatus 10 has moved a workpiece from rack 16,horizontally and then downwardly and again horizontally inserting theworkpiece into the clamping fixture 38 of the machine 12 which willperform a production operation thereon. Upon clamping by the machine 12vise 20 opens and motor 40 is reversed turning counterclockwise and thetrack member 28 returns to its original retracted position and furtherturning counterclockwise pulling on chains 30 tows the vise back up andto the right, as seen in FIG. 1 and 3, in track 28 returning the vise toits position under the indexing mechanism. As described this apparatusjust inserts the workpiece into machine 12, the workpiece is dischargedfrom the clamping fixture 38 by gravity on to a conveyor system. It willbe easily understood that this apparatus may also remove the workpiecefrom machine 12 and at some point on its return toward its loadingposition, stop at an unloading station and have the workpiece removedeither manually or mechanically.

On top of vise 20 as more clearly shown in FIG. 3 there is an inclinedplain cam 42. Pivotedly supported from support plates 15 of rack 16there is a trailing arm 43 and cam follower 44 which are mounted onashaft 45, each end of the shaft, has secured thereto, on the outside ofplates 15, arms or segments 46 which in turn engages studs 47 secured inindex members 48 which are slidably mounted in plates 15. When vise 20is not in the loading or home position the cam follower 44 is urged downagainst stop 39 by spring 41 allowing the index members 48 to stay down.The work members on rack 16 slide or roll against stop 50, in thisposition a workpiece is sitting on the ends of indexing members 48. Asthe vise 20 homes the cam follower 44 rides up cam 42, in doing sorotates shaft and the segments 46 secured thereto push on the indexingmembers 48 raising one workpiece to a position where it no longer abutsstop 50 and rolls or slides into the open jaws of vise 20.

Positioned on opposite sides of the vise is an alignment member 52 and afluid cylinder 54. Cylinder 54 and alignment member 52 are mounted on aframe which is supported by L- shaped plates secured to baseplate 11.The alignment member 52 and arm 56 secured to piston rod 55 arepositioned to be in alignment with the ends of a workpiece when it is invise 20. The alignment member 52 and cylinder 54 are positioned to putone end of the workpiece 14 at an exact position for insertion inmachine 12. The alignment member 52 is adjustable to accommodate variousdesired end positions so it may be prepositioned and secured so that allbars thereafter abutting it will be in the same axial position enteringmachine 12. The hydraulic cylinder 54 and piston rod 55 with arm 56 movetowards the end of the bar pushing the opposite end into abuttingrelationship with alignment member 52. As each enters vise 20, cylinder54 moves to position the end against the alignment member 52, before.the vise 10 clamps the workpiece therein.

Secured to the frame, supporting alignment member 52 and cylinder 54 isguide member 58, positioned over vise 20, which is adjustable to bemoved up and down according to the size of workpiece. The guide 58 isadjusted down close enough to the workpieces in rack 16 to prevent thebars from passing over one another. This guide prevents the weight ofthe workpieces, when the rack is fully loaded from passing over stockpositioned on the indexing member 48.

I claim:

1. In a bar stock handling apparatus: the combination of an inclinedinfeed bar stock supporting fixture, an indexing stop mechanism, a visehaving parallel and upright clamping surfaces for receiving and clampinga workpiece received from said indexing stop, means moving said vise andthe workpiece clamped therein along an L-shaped track and moving saidtrack and vise forward wherein said forementioned upright surfaces ofthe vise are now horizontal, a workpiece receiving apparatus whereinupon forward movement of said vise, said vise inserts the workpiece intothe work receiving apparatus, and wherein said receiving apparatussecures said workpiece and said vise opens and retracts horizontally andthen back along the L-shaped track to the forementioned position whereinsaid vise clamping surfaces are upright and parallel ready to receivethe next workpiece indexed therein.

2. A bar stock handling apparatus as in claim I, wherein said meansmoving said vise along the L-shaped track is a pushing action with aroller chain, said chain being moved by a reversible drive motor.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 583,5 76 Dated June 8 1971 lnve ol-( Franklin D. Lakins It is certified thaterror appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the cover sheet, cancel "[73] Assignee Alfreda B.

Signed and sealed this 8th day of May 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M. FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents Lakins, surviving spouse of said Franklin D. Lakins,deceased".

USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 U 5 GOVERNMENT PRINTING UFFICE I9" U-356 33

1. In a bar stock handling apparatus: the combination of an inclinedinfeed bar stock supporting fixture, an indexing stop mechanism, a visehaving parallel and upright clamping surfaces for receiving and clampinga workpiece received from said indexing stop, means moving said vise andthe workpiece clamped therein along an L-shaped track and moving saidtrack and vise forward wherein said forementioned upright surfaces ofthe vise are now horizontal, a workpiece receiving apparatus whereinupon forward movement of said vise, said vise inserts the workpiece intothe work receiving apparatus, and wherein said receiving apparatussecures said workpiece and said vise opens and retracts horizontally andthen back along the L-shaped track to the forementioned position whereinsaid vise clamping surfaces are upright and parallel ready to receivethe next workpiece indexed therein.
 2. A bar stock handling apparatus asin claim l, wherein said means moving said vise along the L-shaped trackis a pushing action with a roller chain, said chain being moved by areversible drive motor.